About the insurance sector

The insurance sector was opened up for private participation with the enactment of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999. While permitting foreign participation in the ventures set up by the private sector, the government restricted participation of the foreign joint venture partner through the FDI route to 26 per cent of the paid-up equity of the insurance company. The objective of the liberalisation was to expand the scope and ambit of Insurance both Life an General in India . Since opening up, the number of participants in the sector has gone up from six insurers (including the Life Insurance Corporation of India , four public sector general insurers and the General Insurance Corporation (GIC) as the national reinsurer) in the year 2000 to 37 insurers operating in the life, non-life and re-insurance segments as on December 2007. This includes specialized insurers, viz., Export Credit Guarantee Corporation; Agricultural Insurance Company and two health insurance companies. Of the 17 life insurance companies, as many as 15 are in joint venture with foreign partners. Of the 10 insurers which have been set up in the non-life segment, 9 are in collaboration with the foreign partners. In addition, two stand-alone health insurance companies have been set up in collaboration with joint venture foreign partners. 26 insurance companies in the private sector have been granted registration in the country in collaboration with established foreign insurance companies from across the globe.In the Life Insurance segment, the total premium underwritten by the industry has grown from Rs. 34,898 crore in 2000- 01 to Rs. 1,56,041 crore in 2006-07. The first year premium, which is a measure of new business secured, underwritten by the life insurers during 2006-07 was Rs. 75,617 crore as compared to Rs. 9,708 crore in 2000-01. The life industry has reported growth of 1.41 per cent in new business premium underwritten during the period April to November 2007. Some estimates show that India is the fifth-largest country in Asia in terms of total insurance premium. The premium income in the country increased to 4.7 percent of GDP in fiscal 2006-07 from 3.3 percent in the fiscal 2002-03.Total premium in the insurance industry grew at a CAGR of 28.1 percent during the same period. The life insurance sector grew at a CAGR of 29.3 percent outsmarting the general insurance sectors CAGR of 21.3 percent. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has projected that foreign direct investment (FDIs) will increase in insurance sector by $ 0.46 billion in next 2 years and likely to touch $ 0.96 billion as it is still regulated. A Paper on FDIs Prospects in Insurance Sector brought out by the ASSOCHAM says that currently the total insurance market in India is about $ 30 billion, in which the element of FDIs is $ 0.5 billion. This is 1.6 percent of total insurance business in India . In the life insurance sector particularly on FDIs front, the growth that has taken between 2006 and 2007 is estimated to be around 270 percent. The penetration of insurance in India as a percentage of gross domestic products (GDP) stood at 4.8 per cent, as on February 2008, against 1.2 per cent in 19992000. Of this, life insurance accounted for 4.1 per cent and non-life insurance for 0.6 per cent. Also, as per industry estimates, out of 78 per cent Indian households that are aware about life insurance, only 24 per cent own a policy. A combined ICICI Prudential Life Insurance and IMRB survey, conducted in three metros Delhi , Mumbai and Chennaishows that households with income of Rs. 35000 on an average have two policies. Further, 79 per cent people prefer life insurance over other tax saving instruments like post office savings, Equity-Linked Saving Schemes and fixed deposits. Since end of 2000 when insurance was privatized, life insurance company and The distribution network expanded significantly. In the second quarter of fiscal 2008-09 1480 branches were added including 1293 branches set up by private sector life insurers. During this period the life industry added 53332 employees to their payrolls. The number of pay-roll employees now crossing over 300,000. Of the total 10,037 branches of life insurance companies around 7,000 are in semi urban and rural areas. The total premium of all insurance companies taken together aggregated to Rs 86,500 crore in the first half of current fiscal. Until 2000, the general insurance sector had only four public sector players. The public enterprises Oriental Insurance Company of India (OIC), National Insurance Company of India (NIC), New India Assurance Company of India (NIA) and United Insurance Company of India (UII) -- were located in Delhi , Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai respectively. They primarily focused on their immediate regions and there was little competition, leading to a near monopolistic environment. In 2006-2007, India s general insurance market witnessed a variety of changes. On the whole, the sector achieved double-digit growth and this trend is expected to persist over the medium term. According to ICRA, the regulatory system has several impacts on the India Insurance sector. IRDA was set up with introduction of the IRDA Act in 1999. Its initial purpose was to bring about general discipline to the industry. It is responsible for protecting the interest of policy holders and promoting efficiency in the insurance business. To ensure their stability, transparency and financial strength, new entrants are subject to rigorous scrutiny and the conduct of their business is closely monitored, particularly in relation to capital adequacy and prudent investment policies.

The regulatory environment to date has attracted many insurers whose domestic partners are leaders in their chosen fields and their foreign counterparts are all well-established with considerable experience in developed and emerging markets. The regulator has laid down investment guidelines that limit exposure in certain class of assets and also sets threshold limits for some assets. At the moment, insurers have to invest a minimum 30% in government securities, in contrast to some of the more mature markets like the US and Australia, which do not have such restrictions. Compliance with these relatively restrictive guidelines could limit insurers ability to diversify and build optimal portfolios. The guidelines also stipulate a minimum 10% investment in the social and infrastructure sector. The investment in unapproved securities has been limited to 25% of total investment books. General insurers must maintain a solvency ratio (available solvency margin/required solvency margin) of 1.5 times, calculated based on net premium earned and net claims incurred in various segments. Public sector entities have maintained comfortable solvency margins, supported by their strong investment portfolios and capitalizations. The private players, being in a growth phase, may require capital infusions from time to time to maintain their solvency requirements. The Indian insurance regulator has set the minimum capital required at a level to ensure that all insurers especially the start-ups have enough funds to meet their claim obligations and to limit their overall writings to the amounts supported by their capital bases. The need to manage capital to comply with IRDAs solvency margin will induce insurers to be more risk conscious when taking on new business To ensure an orderly transition towards a deregulated insurance market and risk-based pricing, IRDA has enacted enabling legislation and issued guidelines to de-tariff various segments. De-tariffing introduced in January 2007 has been well accepted and corrections to prices in profitable lines have been dramatic and have noticeably impacted premium growth rates. In fact, the discounting has been so extreme that the regulator intervened in September 2007 and capped maximum discounts at 52.5% Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has now entered the health insurance market and has mobilised premium income of US$ 21.23 million in the last two months of 200708. Birla Sun Life on January 7, 2008 also announced its plans to enter into the US$ 40.75 billion health insurance business with the launch of two plans nationally. ICICI Prudential Life on January 5, 2008 launched Health Saver, to help consumers meet their current healthcare expenses and also invest for future healthcare expenses. According to ICRA,the Rs. 281 billion Indian general insurance industry reported a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.1% over the last five years. The ICRA report on Indian General Insurance Industry says that currently, there are 14 active general insurance companies in the country, including four from the public sector. Over the last five years, the private sector entities have reported strong growth, and together they now have a market share of around 60%. While the public sector players remain the largest in the industry, the gap between the top three private sector players and the public sector entities has narrowed substantially during the last few years. Overall, the top eight players in the Indian general insurance industry continue account for over 90% of the total business. In terms of business lines, motor and health, which are predominantly retail lines, now account for over 60% of the total business, as againstaround 50% five years back as paer the ICRA report. The non-life insurers (excluding specialized institutions like ECGC and AIC) underwrote premium within India to the tune of Rs. 24,905.47 crore in 2006-07, as against Rs. 9,807 crore in 2000-01. Two of the fastest growing segments are motor and health accounting for 42.73 and 12.77 per cent of the premium underwritten in India in 2006-07. The premium underwritten in these two segments alone in 2006-07 was Rs. 11,080 crore and Rs. 3,311 crore, respectively. During the current year, the non-life insurers underwrote premium of Rs. 18,509 crore during April to November 2007 as against Rs. 16,560 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Post-de-tariffing, while the growth in premium has slowed down on account of reduction in rates, the number of policies underwritten has shown an increase.

InsuranceMeaningInsurance against loss by illness or bodily injury. Health insurance provides coverage for medicine, visits to the doctor or emergency room, hospital stays and other medical expenses. Policies differ in what they cover, the size of the deductible and/or co-payment, limits of coverage and the options for treatment available to the policyholder. Health insurance can be directly purchased by an individual, or it may be provided through an employer. Medicare and Medicaid are programs which provide health insurance to elderly, disabled, or un-insured individuals. There are a number of companies which provide private health insurance, including Blue Cross, United Healthcare, or Aetna.

Health insurance in india;

The escalating cost of medical treatment today is beyond the reach of a common man. In case of a medical emergency, cost of hospital room rent, the doctor's fees, medicines and related health services can work out to be a huge sum. In such times, health insurance provides the much needed financial relief. An investment in health insurance scheme would be a judicious decision. The health insurance scheme could either be a personal scheme or a group scheme sponsored by an employer. Some of the existing health insurance schemes currently available are individual, family, group insurance schemes, senior citizens insurance schemes, long-term health care and insurance cover for specific diseases. There are two major insurance companies in India namely:

Medical expenses are sky high these days, but were never cheap ever. Even a small treatment or an appointment with a doctor might consume a lot of money. Health insurance is a must, it saves money and covers unexpected calamities. Health insurance comes in handy to meet emergencies of severe ailment or accident. Sometimes it is associated with covering disability and custodial needs. Life is unpredictable, insurance can make it safe and secure from bearing huge loss. Health insurance is affordable and carries the assurance and freedom from insecurities that threaten life now and then.

We liaise with the leading health insurance providers in India and buying through us enables analyzing costs and benefits from the pool of policies matching your requirements and of course not to forget the quality service offered by Policy Bazaar.

Applying for health insurance with us is not only quick and convenient and cost-effective! No complex forms, some basic details are all we need to fetch you the best health policies covering pre and post hospitalization expenses, day care procedures, critical illness cover, cashless claims and tax benefits.

Medical expenses are sky high these days. The elaborate medical treatment expenses could eat into your savings meant for the future. Health insurance policies in India ensure that you get the required treatment and your pocket is still under control. Having health insurance in India is important because the coverage helps people cover the risk of financial difficulties in the event of long illness.

Health plans are available in two formats, individual health insurance policies and family floater health insurance. In, individual health insurance policies you are personally the owner of the policy. While in a family floater health insurance, the sponsor owns the policy and the people covered under it are called its members.

Generally, most of the health insurance products in India have a critical illness cover, though it comes with a waiting period. Also, when you purchase a comprehensive health insurance policy, there is generally a cap on the amount payable for critical illnesses cover. In a separate critical illness plan, the amount payable is lump sum.

The main difference between a critical illness separate plan and a comprehensive plan is that while the first will give you a lump sum payment of your total sum assured in case you get admitted for a critical disease, the latter will pay only the amount spent on the treatment within the sum assured limits.

Key Benefits

Comprehensive coverage for your family with floater benefit Cashless claims facility at over 4,000+ network hospitals across India Continue to enjoy quality service even during claim settlements with - ICICI Lombard Health Care - our own in-house health claim processing and wellness team No sub-limits on room rent, doctor fees, and hospital charges or for any disease (except Cataract where 20,000 per eye is applicable).

No co-payments for any disease or any hospitalisation expenses Now get a Free health check-up coupon for any one insured family member, valid for the policy period Called a Convalescence benefit, the insured, once during the policy period, is eligible for a benefit amount of 10,000 if hospitalized for any bodily injury or illness as covered under the policy, for a period of 10 consecutive days, or more. The insured will be eligible for a daily cash of 1000 per day for a max. of 7 days, in case the insured is hospitalized for any injury or illness as covered under the policy, for a minimum of 5 consecutive days.

Health insurance policy

A health insurance policy is a contract between an insurer and an individual or a group, in which the insurer agrees to provide specified health insurance at an agreed-upon price the premium. Depending on the policy, the premium may be payable either in a lump sum or in instalments. Health insurance usually provides either direct payment or reimbursements for expenses associated with illnesses and injuries. The cost and range of protection provided by the health insurance will depend on the insurance provider and the particular policy purchased. These days, most companies give the benefit of health insurance to the employees. However, in case your employer does not offer a health insurance plan, it is advisable to opt for a health insurance scheme.

- The Life Insurance Company of India (LIC) - The General Insurance Company of India (GIC) The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) offers: - The Asha Deep Plan: It provides cover for cancer, paralytic stroke resulting in permanent disability, renal failure and coronary artery disease where by-pass surgery has been done. It caters to people between 18 - 65 years. - Jeevan Asha: The Jeevan Asha policy is the other healthcare product offered by LIC. It is an open-ended scheme covering many surgical procedures. While LIC deals with insurance for life coverage only, the GIC deals with the other aspects of insurance, including health. Following are the main health policies offered by the Indian Insurance Companies. These policies are regulated by the General Insurance Corporation and are marketed by the four big insurance companies: United India Insurance Co Ltd., New India Assurance Co Ltd., Oriental Insurance Co Ltd. and National Insurance Co Ltd. The insurance policies offered by GIC are: 1. Mediclaim

Insures against any hospitalisation expenses that may arise in future. This policy is designed to prevent the insured from paying for any hospitalisation expenses owing to illness or injury suffered by the insured, whether the hospitalisation is domiciliary or otherwise. It covers the expenses incurred on the following:

2. Jan Arogya Bima Policy It insures hospitalisation or domiciliary hospitalisation expenses incurred on medical or surgical treatment for any illness or disease (contracted after 30 days from the commencement of the policy) or injury. Any person in the age group of three months to 70 years can be insured under this. The risk insured include sudden illnesses like heart attack, jaundice, pneumonia, appendicitis, paralytic attack, food poisoning or accidents that require hospitalisation. This insurance policy was designed for the lower income group of society and the common masses. The entire idea was to protect them from high costs of hospitalisation. 3. Overseas Mediclaim Policy Any person going abroad on holiday, business, study or employment can avail this policy. Coverage under the medical expense section of this insurance is intended for use by the Insured person in the event of a sudden and unexpected sickness or accident arising when the Insured is outside the Republic of India. 4. Personal Accident Policy The policy compensates an individual against death, loss of limbs, loss of eyesight, permanent total disablement, permanent partial disablement and temporary total disablement, solely and directly resulting from accidental injuries. 5. Critical Illness Policy Critical Illness Policy is an exclusive benefit policy for individuals in the age group 20-65 years covering coronary artery surgery, cancer, renal failure, stroke, multiple sclerosis and major organ transplants like kidney, lung, pancreas or bone marrow.

6. New India Assurance Bhavishya Arogya This caters to persons between 3 to 50 years. This policy is essentially to take care of medical expenses needs of persons in their old age. The policy provides for expenses in respect of hospitalisation and domiciliary hospitalisation during the period commencing from the Policy Retirement Age selected till survival. This is selected by the insured for the purpose of commencement of benefits in the policy.

the main health policies or schemes offered by Indian insurance companies

Some of the existing health insurance schemes currently available are individual, family, group insurance schemes, senior citizens insurance schemes, long-term health care and insurance cover for specific diseases. Choose the one that suits you best and insure your health. The insurance policies offered by GIC are:

Indian insurance need foreign players

Competition improves quality of service. In India, LIC and GIC are well-established names. Only companies of equal strength and track record can effectively compete with them. Foreign players will provide expertise. Some foreign companies entering the Indian insurance sector and their Indian partners are as below:

Received License Received License Received License

Non-Life, Health Received License for Non-Life Life, Health Life Received License Received License

Life and Non-Life Received License

changes are likely to occur with privatization

Currently, insurance for health care is tied up with only emergency situations. With privatization it is hoped that health care will come within the reach of a large proportion of the population. It is important to remember that health insurance should now change from providing cover for treating sickness to ensuring the wellness of the consumer. An insurance model must be created with the `Total Health' perspective to not only give access to quality healthcare but also incorporate preventive health care into the main system. Hospitals, different service centres and diagnostic centres needs to be accredited. In India, approximately 80% of the total health expenditure comes from self-paid category as against governments contribution of 20-30 %. A majority of private hospitals are expensive for a normal middle class family. The opening up of the insurance sector to private players is expected to give a shot in the arm of the healthcare industry. Health insurance will make healthcare affordable to a large number of people. Currently, in India only 2 million people (0.2 % of total population of 1 billion), are covered under Mediclaim, whereas in developed nations like USA about 75 % of the total population are covered under some insurance scheme. General Insurance Company, has never aggressively marketed health insurance. Moreover, GIC takes upto 6 months to process a claim and reimburses customers after they have paid for treatment out of their own pockets.

the pros and cons of privitisation of health insurance

prosFlexibility in health insurance products and prices

consSupplier induced demand which would lead to increase in cost of care. Risk selection practices where the disabled, poor, elderly would be ignored Exclusion of pre-existing conditions and diseases

Comprehensive and cost effective packages

Medical plans will be tailored as per the requirement of an individual based on prenegotiated rates Fewer age, disease and benefits restrictions

Claim settlement would be smoother and faster

Health insurance products from some private insurance companies:

1. Bajaj Allianz Health Guard Covers individuals between 5 to 55 years. Children below 5 years can be insured if the parents are concurrently insured with the company. It provides cashless facility across various hospitals across India. Herein pre-existing illness and injuries are covered in the year of cover, if the insured renews his policy consecutively for 5 years. 2. Royal Sundaram Health Shield Gold Covers individuals between 5 to 55 years. from 91 Days to 75 years and also persons above the age of 55 years are covered as a part of family and not on individual basis. All in hospitalisation expenses are covered (period of stay in hospital should be more than 24hours). Pre hospitalisation expenses are covered for a period of 30 days & post hospitalisation for 60 days. Under this policy pre-existing illness and injuries are covered in the 6th year of cover, if the insured renews his policy consecutively for 5 years. Maternity treatment charges are covered upto the extent of Rs. 20,000. These include expenses incurred in hospital/ nursing homes as in patient in India. 3. Birla Sun Life Birla Sun Life Insurance is the coming together of the Aditya Birla group and Sun Life Financial of Canada to enter the Indian insurance sector. The Aditya Birla Group, a multinational

conglomerate has over 75 business units in India and overseas with operations in Canada, USA, UK, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia and Egypt to name a few. 4. HDFC Standard Life HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co. Ltd. is a joint venture between HDFC Ltd., Indias largest housing finance institution and Standard Life Assurance Company, Europes largest mutual life company. 5. ICICI Pru ICICI Prudential Life Insurance is a joint venture between the ICICI Group and Prudential plc., of the UK. ICICI started off its operations in 1955 with providing finance for industrial development, and since then it has diversified into housing finance, consumer finance, mutual funds to being a Virtual Universal Bank and its latest venture Life Insurance. 6. Om Kotak Mahindra Established in 1985 as Kotak Capital Management Finance promoted by Uday Kotak the company has come a long way since its entry into corporate finance. It has dabbled in leasing, auto finance, hire purchase, investment banking, consumer finance, broking etc. 7. Tata AIG General Insurance Company The Tata AIG joint venture is a tie up between the established Tata Group and American International Group Inc. The Tata Group is one of the largest and most respected industrial houses in the country, while AIG is a leading US based insurance and financial services company with a presence in over 130 countries and jurisdictions around the world. 8. Max India Max India Limited is a multi-business corporation that has business interests in telecom services, bulk pharmaceuticals, electronic components and specialty products. It is also the serviceoriented businesses of healthcare, life insurance and information technology.

Types of Health Insurance Plans

The three most common types of health insurance plans are Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), Participating Provider Options (PPOs) and Consumer Directed Health Plans (CDHPs). HMOs An HMO is a type of health insurance plan that gives you access to certain doctors and hospitals, often called network or contracting doctors and hospitals (sometimes called "providers").

PPOs Like HMOs, PPOs often feature a network of doctors, specialists and hospitals; however, there are some key differences between the two types of plans.. CDHPs and the HSA Option Consumer Directed Health Plans (CDHPs) often involve pairing a high deductible PPO plan with a tax-advantaged account, such as a Health Savings Account (HSA). For an individual to establish an HSA and contribute money to the account each year, he or she must be considered an HSA-eligible individual. Eligibility includes enrollment in an HSA-qualified high deductible health plan.

Insurance, DevelopmentINTRODUCTION The Insurance sector in India governed by Insurance Act, 1938, the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 and General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act, 1972, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) Act, 1999 and other related Acts. With such a large population and the untapped market area of this population Insurance happens to be a very big opportunity in India. Today it stands as a business growing at the rate of 15-20 per cent annually. Together with banking services, it adds about 7 per cent to the countrys GDP .In spite of all this growth the statistics of the penetration of the insurance in the country is very poor. Nearly 80% of Indian populations are without Life insurance cover and the Health insurance. This is an indicator that growth potential for the insurance sector is immense in India. It was due to this immense growth that the regulations were introduced in the insurance sector and in continuation Malhotra Committee was constituted by the government in 1993 to examine the various aspects of the

industry. The key element of the reform process was Participation of overseas insurance companies with 26% capital. Creating a more efficient and competitive financial system suitable for the requirements of the economy was the main idea behind this reform.

Since then the insurance industry has gone through many sea changes .The competition LIC started facing from these companies were threatening to the existence of LIC .since the liberalization of the industry the insurance industry has never looked back and today stand as the one of the most competitive and exploring industry in India. The entry of the private players and the increased use of the new distribution are in the limelight today. The use of new distribution techniques and the IT tools has increased the scope of the industry in the longer run.

Indian Insurance Market History Insurance has a long history in India. Life Insurance in its current form was introduced in 1818 when Oriental Life Insurance Company began its operations in India. General Insurance was however a comparatively late entrant in 1850 when Triton Insurance company set up its base in Kolkata. History of Insurance in India can be broadly bifurcated into three eras: a) Pre Nationalisation b) Nationalisation and c) Post Nationalisation. Life Insurance was the first to be nationalized in 1956. Life Insurance Corporation of India was formed by consolidating the operations of various insurance companies. General Insurance followed suit and was nationalized in 1973. General Insurance Corporation of India was set up as the controlling body with New India, United India, National and Oriental as its subsidiaries. The process of opening up the insurance sector was initiated against the background of Economic Reform process which commenced from 1991. For this purpose Malhotra Committee was formed during this year who submitted their report in 1994 and Insurance Regulatory Development Act (IRDA) was passed in 1999. Resultantly Indian Insurance was opened for private companies and Private Insurance Company effectively started operations from 2001. Insurance Market- Present: The insurance sector was opened up for private participation four years ago. For years now, the private players are active in the liberalized environment. The insurance market have witnessed dynamic changes which includes presence of a fairly large number of insurers both life and nonlife segment. Most of the private insurance companies have formed joint venture partnering well recognized foreign players across the globe. There are now 29 insurance companies operating in the Indian market 14 private life insurers, nine private non-life insurers and six public sector companies. With many more joint ventures in

the offing, the insurance industry in India today stands at a crossroads as competition intensifies and companies prepare survival strategies in a detariffed scenario. There is pressure from both within the country and outside on the Government to increase the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit from the current 26% to 49%, which would help JV partners to bring in funds for expansion. There are opportunities in the pensions sector where regulations are being framed. Less than 10 % of Indians above the age of 60 receive pensions. The IRDA has issued the first licence for a standalone health company in the country as many more players wait to enter. The health insurance sector has tremendous growth potential, and as it matures and new players enter, product innovation and enhancement will increase. The deepening of the health database over time will also allow players to develop and price products for larger segments of society. State Insurers Continue To Dominate There may be room for many more players in a large underinsured market like India with a population of over one billion. But the reality is that the intense competition in the last five years has made it difficult for new entrants to keep pace with the leaders and thereby failing to make any impact in the market. Also as the private sector controls over 26.18% of the life insurance market and over 26.53% of the non-life market, the public sector companies still call the shots. The countrys largest life insurer, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), had a share of 74.82% in new business premium income in November 2005. Similarly, the four public-sector non-life insurers New India Assurance, National Insurance, Oriental Insurance and United India Insurance had a combined market share of 73.47% as of October 2005. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company continues to lead the private sector with a 7.26% market share in terms of fresh premium, whereas ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company is the leader among the private non-life players with a 8.11% market share. ICICI Lombard has focused on growing the market for general insurance products and increasing penetration within existing customers through product innovation and distribution. Reaching Out To Customers No doubt, the customer profile in the insurance industry is changing with the introduction of large number of divergent intermediaries such as brokers, corporate agents, and bancassurance. The industry now deals with customers who know what they want and when, and are more demanding in terms of better service and speedier responses. With the industry all set to move to a detariffed regime by 2007, there will be considerable improvement in customer service levels, product innovation and newer standards of underwriting. Intense Competition In a de-tariffed environment, competition will manifest itself in prices, products, underwriting criteria, innovative sales methods and creditworthiness. Insurance companies will vie with each other to capture market share through better pricing and client segmentation.

The battle has so far been fought in the big urban cities, but in the next few years, increased competition will drive insurers to rural and semi-urban markets. Global Standards While the world is eyeing India for growth and expansion, Indian companies are becoming increasingly world class. Take the case of LIC, which has set its sight on becoming a major global player following a Rs280-crore investment from the Indian government. The company now operates in Mauritius, Fiji, the UK, Sri Lanka, Nepal and will soon start operations in Saudi Arabia. It also plans to venture into the African and Asia-Pacific regions in 2006. The year 2005 was a testing phase for the general insurance industry with a series of catastrophes hitting the Indian sub-continent. However, with robust reinsurance programmes in place, insurers have successfully managed to tide over the crisis without any adverse impact on their balance sheets. With life insurance premiums being just 2.5% of GDP and general insurance premiums being 0.65% of GDP, the opportunities in the Indian market place is immense. The next five years will be challenging but those that can build scale and market share will survive and prosper. LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION OF INDIA (LIC)

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) was formed in September, 1956 by an Act of Parliament, viz., Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956, with capital contribution from the Government of India. The then Finance Minister, Shri C.D. Deshmukh, while piloting the bill, outlined the objectives of LIC thus: to conduct the business with the utmost economy, in a spirit of trusteeship; to charge premium no higher than warranted by strict actuarial considerations; to invest the funds for obtaining maximum yield for the policy holders consistent with safety of the capital; to render prompt and efficient service to policy holders, thereby making insurance widely popular.

Since nationalisation, LIC has built up a vast network of 2,048 branches, 100 divisions and 7 zonal offices spread over the country. The Life Insurance Corporation of India also transacts business abroad and has offices in Fiji, Mauritius and United Kingdom. LIC is associated with joint ventures abroad in the field of insurance, namely, Ken-India Assurance Company Limited, Nairobi; United Oriental Assurance Company Limited, Kuala Lumpur and Life Insurance Corporation (International) E.C. Bahrain. The Corporation has registered a joint venture company in 26th December, 2000 in Kathmandu, Nepal by the name of Life Insurance Corporation (Nepal) Limited in collaboration with Vishal Group Limited, a local industrial Group. An off-shore company L.I.C. (Mauritius) Off-shore Limited has also been set up in 2001 to tap the African insurance market.

MARKET SHARE OF INDIAN INSURANCE INDUSTRY

The introduction of private players in the industry has added value to the industry. The initiatives taken by the private players are very competitive and have given immense competition to the on time monopoly of the market LIC. Since the advent of the private players in the market the industry has seen new and innovative steps taken by the players in this sector. The new players have improved the service quality of the insurance. As a result LIC down the years have seen the declining phase in its career. The market share was distributed among the private players. Though LIC still holds the 75% of the insurance sector but the upcoming natures of these private players are enough to give more competition to LIC in the near future. LIC market share has decreased from 95% (2002-03) to 81 %( 2004-05).The following companies has the rest of the market share of the insurance industry. Table 3 shows the mane of the player in the market. PRESENT SCENARIO OF INSURANCE INDUSTRY

India with about 200 million middle class household shows a huge untapped potential for players in the insurance industry. Saturation of markets in many developed economies has made the Indian market even more attractive for global insurance majors. The insurance sector in India has come to a position of very high potential and competitiveness in the market. Indians, have always seen life insurance as a tax saving device, are now suddenly turning to the private sector that are providing them new products and variety for their choice. Consumers remain the most important centre of the insurance sector. After the entry of the foreign players the industry is seeing a lot of competition and thus improvement of the customer service in the industry. Computerisation of operations and updating of technology has become imperative in the current scenario. Foreign players are bringing in international best practices in service through use of latest technologies

The insurance agents still remain the main source through which insurance products are sold. The concept is very well established in the country like India but still the increasing use of other sources is imperative. At present the distribution channels that are available in the market are listed below. Direct selling Corporate agents Group selling Brokers and cooperative societies Bancassurance Customers have tremendous choice from a large variety of products from pure term (risk) insurance to unit-linked investment products. Customers are offered unbundled products with a variety of benefits as riders from which they can choose. More customers are buying products and services based on their true needs and not just traditional moneyback policies, which is not considered very appropriate for long-term protection and savings. There is lots of saving and investment plans in the market. However, there are still some key new products yet to be introduced - e.g. health products.

The rural consumer is now exhibiting an increasing propensity for insurance products. A research conducted exhibited that the rural consumers are willing to dole out anything between Rs 3,500 and Rs 2,900 as premium each year. In the insurance the awareness level for life insurance is the highest in rural India, but the consumers are also aware about motor, accidents and cattle insurance. In a study conducted by MART the results showed that nearly one third said that they had purchased some kind of insurance with the maximum penetration skewed in favor of life insurance. The study also pointed out the private companies have huge task to play in creating awareness and credibility among

the rural populace. The perceived benefits of buying a life policy range from security of income bulk return in future, daughter's marriage, children's education and good return on savings, in that order, the study adds.

Health Insurance Problems

Has your insurance company refused to pay for your medical services? Find out more about how insurance companies make claims determinations, and how to appeal decisions that you disagree with. Balance Billing - Have Your Overpaid? Balance billing may happen when your health plan pays less than what your doctor or hospital charges and want to be paid. Your healthcare provider may demand the balance of the bill from you. Some people do not know that this is inappropriate and pay what is being asked.

Fighting a Health Insurance Claim Denial If you use your health insurance, you might run up against a claim denial. It's usually worth fighting your denial. Fortunately, routes are available for disputing claim denials, including getting help from the government in many states. Sometimes your insurer will surrender and pay your claim to avoid the expense of handling an appeal. A Consumer Guide to Handling Disputes A helpful guide that walks you through the process of appealing a claims denial through your insurance plan, and then escalate with your states insurance department if necessary. Includes state-specific information. Links to State Insurance Department Websites Sometimes, you need to get your states insurance department to help you resolve a health insurance claims dispute. Find contact information as well as help for filing claims appeals on your states site. Health reforms Virtually all Americans will be affected in some way with the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, which President Obama signed into law on March 23, 2010. Learn some of the details of the health reform legislation and the benefits you can expect.

Health Reform Requirements and Issues

The Affordable Care Act fills more than 1,000 pages and details a set of immediate health insurance benefits along with a plan for rolling out additional benefits over a four-year period and beyond. Along with benefits for many Americans, there may be some problems along the way. Taxes and Health Reform Either as an individual or the owner of a small business, you may be affected by the tax provisions in the Affordable Care Act. Learn about some of the important tax-related consequences of the Affordable Care Act that have already been decided and some information of what you can expect as the legislation is fully rolled out between 2010 and 2014.

Medicare and Health Reform The Affordable Care Act makes several changes to Medicare that most likely will improve your benefits and, depending on where you live, your access to primary care services. These changes will start this year - 2010 - and be fully phased in by 2020. Physicians and Health Reform The Affordable Care Act includes mandatory health coverage for people without health insurance. Adding more than 30 million newly insured people into our health system will make the shortage of primary care physicians (PCPs) worse. There will be many more patients and a lot fewer primary care physicians!

Objectives of the insurance

Increase health care service availability and accessibility. Improve health care quality, safety, cost, and value. Broaden health insurance and long-term care coverage. Prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Protect the public against injuries and environmental threats. Promote the economic independence and social well-being of individuals and families across the lifespan. Protect the safety and foster the well-being of children and youth. Encourage the development of strong, healthy, and supportive communities. Strengthen the pool of qualified health and behavioral science researchers. Increase basic scientific knowledge to improve human health and human development. Conduct and oversee applied research to improve health and well-being.

Research methodologyMEANING OF REASEARCHResearch is defined as a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic. Research is an art of scientific investigation. Research is a systematized effort to gain now knowledge. It is a careful investigation or inquiry especially through search for new facts in any branch of knowledge. Research is an academic activity and this term should be used in a technical sense. Research comprises defining and redefining problems, formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions. Making deductions and reaching conclusions to determine whether they if the formulating hypothesis. Research is thus, an original contribution to the existing stock of knowledge making for its advancement. The search for knowledge through objective and systematic method of finding solutions to a problem is research.

RESEARCH PROBLEMThe first step while conducting research is careful definition of Research Problem. To ERR IS THE HUMAN is a proverb which indicates that no one is perfect in this world. Every researcher has to face many problems which conducting any research thats why problem statement is defined to know which type of problems a researcher has to face while conducting any study. It is said that, Problem well defined is problem half solved. Basically, a problem statement refers to some difficulty, which researcher experiences in the context of either a theoretical or practical situation and wants to obtain the solution for the same. The problem statement here is: To find out the competitive statues of India Infoline compare to its close competitor

DATA COLLECTIOMThe process of data collection begins after a research problem has been defined and research design has been chalked out. There are two types of data Primary data It is first hand data, which is collected by researcher itself. Primary data is collected by various approaches so as to get a precise, accurate, realistic and relevant data. The main tool in gathering primary data was investigation and observation. It was achieved by a direct approach and observation from the officials of the company. Secondary data it is the data which is already collected by someone else. Researcher has to analyze the data and interprets the results. It has always been important for the completion of any report. It provides reliable, suitable, adequate and specific knowledge. I took data comprise annual financial statement and past records. Stretch Bands has provided me annual financial statement from 2007-08 to 2010-11 by help of which, I prepared my report.

The valuable cooperation extended by staff members contributed a lot to fulfill the requirements in the collection of data in order to complete the project. Various statistical tools are applied depending on the research problem. In this study ratio analyzing and working capital analyzing and interpreting the result.

OBJECTIVE OF RESEARCH

The main objective of report is to find the how many people take health insurance To see that the which company is the best in health insurance To see which insurance is the most preferable to the people To find the peoples over view of the health insurance

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Percentage of total health expenditure funded through public/social insurance and direct government revenue Social Health Insurance Government Budget